It’s officially Paul George trade season.
The Cleveland Cavaliers completed their first-round sweep of the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. Though the 16-point margin throughout the series is the lowest in NBA history for a best-of-seven sweep, there’s no solace in narrow defeats—not for the Pacers.
While George cannot explore free agency until 2018 (player option), Indiana’s team president, Larry Bird, has to get out in front of the situation. If he makes an All-NBA team, do they sign him to a five-year extension worth in excess of $200 million, or is that price too steep? If he doesn’t make an All-NBA team, do they move him to avoid losing him for nothing in 2018 free agency? Or do they play out the situation and hope he qualifies for the extension by the end of next season?
Whatever the Pacers decide is both dependent on George’s All-NBA status, their willingness to invest a lot of coin in him and, of course, any consults they seek from the All-Star himself.
To that end, George wouldn’t tip his hand about which way, if any, he was leaning after Indiana’s Game 4 loss. Here’s a video of his answer to a leading question, via SI.com’s Ben Golliver:
Pacers' Paul George on whether he wants to stay in Indiana: "I ain't even at that point yet, Bob. Next question." pic.twitter.com/A85CPLtkVA
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) April 23, 2017
These questions have to be asked. They have to be. But they also can’t be answered by the player.
For one, Paul George’s season just ended. He probably doesn’t have an ironclad idea what he wants to do next. And if he does, he won’t earn himself any relaxation by making it known this early in the offseason. There’s no way he’s just going to renew his allegiance to the Pacers without knowing the roster’s makeup and his All-NBA status, and there’s no point discussing the prospect of leaving when it would only create a shit storm of follow-up questions, speculation, rampant rumors and, most of all, pointed criticism.
In this case, mum was the right, and only, word for George.
